Dr. Richard Landau, who led endocrinology at University of Chicago, dies

University of Chicago

Dr. Richard Landau, shown in 1965, led the endocrinology department at the University of Chicago for many years. Landau, 99, died of natural causes Nov. 3 in Montgomery Place, an assisted-living facility in Hyde Park.

Dr. Richard Landau, shown in 1965, led the endocrinology department at the University of Chicago for many years. Landau, 99, died of natural causes Nov. 3 in Montgomery Place, an assisted-living facility in Hyde Park.

Dr. Richard Landau was a specialist in endocrinology at the University of Chicago and over more than 40 years burnished the school's reputation in the field through his own work and by recruiting and mentoring talented young physicians and scientists.

"He built it up and brought it up to a level that was rated No. 5 nationally," said Dr. Samuel Refetoff, a U. of C. professor of medicine who met Landau in 1969.

Landau developed strong personal relationships with younger scientists despite a reputation for being demanding, blunt and outspoken about people and issues.

"Irascible and outspoken and irreverent" is how Dr. Arthur Rubinstein described him. Rubinstein, now a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, came to the U. of C. in 1967 as a postdoctoral fellow and was later recruited by Landau to join the endocrine group.

"He was never negative or hurtful," Rubinstein said, "just called it like it was."

Landau, 99, died of natural causes Nov. 3 in Montgomery Place, an assisted-living facility in Hyde Park, according to his daughter Susan Axelrod, the wife of political consultant and former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod. Landau was a longtime resident of Hyde Park.

Landau was born and grew up in St. Louis. In a memoir, he traced his decision to go into medicine to the book "Microbe Hunters," by Paul de Kruif, a book that is said to have influenced a number of careers in science and medicine.

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He received undergraduate and medical degrees from Washington University in St. Louis before coming to the U. of C. in 1940 for a three-year residency. During that time, he began working in the laboratory of the late endocrine specialist Allan Kenyon.

Refetoff defined endocrinology as the study of organs that secrete hormones that enter the blood stream and have an effect distant from their source. Endocrine diseases include diabetes and thyroid, adrenal and pituitary disorders.

Near the end of World War II, Landau served as an Army physician in the Pacific theater. He returned to the U. of C. in 1946 as an instructor in medicine. He soon became an assistant professor and then an associate professor before becoming a full professor in 1959.

In 1961, he became program director of the university's Clinical Research Center and a year later became associate chairman of medicine. In 1966, he became chief of the endocrinology section.

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Rubinstein said in addition to his leadership and research work, Landau was dedicated to caring for patients.

"He was a person who could identify with patients, look out for them and protect them," said Rubinstein, who recalled making rounds with Landau. "The atmosphere of respect, his ethical standards — irrespective of rich or poor, Richard always stood for what was right.

"It was impressive, and we all learned from him," Rubinstein said, adding that he still finds himself doing things with respect to patient care and treatment based on Landau's example.

Dr. Edward Ehrlich, now retired as a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, met Landau as a medical resident at U. of C.

Ehrlich called Landau his "mentor and academic father figure," who influenced his career path. "After having met Richard, I was so impressed that I wanted to associate with him. I became an endocrinologist. I thought he would be a source of comfort and admiration, and that's the way it turned out."

Ehrlich described his mentor as extremely open and completely honest. "That made him seem to some people a little blunt," Ehrlich said, "but he was just a very, very straight shooter — and completely loyal to the people in the section."

Landau's concerns with ethical issues led to his appointment as the first chairman of the medical center's Institutional Review Board, the group that monitors all research involving human subjects. He held the post for many years.

Landau published more than 90 papers and was a member of the editorial board at the Journal of the American Medical Association. He was also editor of the journal Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, published for many years by the University of Chicago and managed for 28 years by his wife, Claire, who died in 2002.

Landau retired in 1987 but continued to meet with university colleagues until his health began to fail when he was well into his 90s.

Landau's impact on medicine was far-reaching, according to Dr. Louis Philipson, a professor of medicine at U. of C. and director of the Kovler Diabetes Center.

"He had a major impact on so many faculty here — chairmen, deans, professors," Philipson said. "He really brought an outstanding group of faculty together in the 1970s and 1980s who are leaders in diabetes and endocrinology. He led us in understanding that patients came first, but that science was still critical."

Survivors include another daughter, Kay Fricke; a brother, William, also a physician; five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

A version of this article appeared in print on November 08, 2015, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Endocrinology leader, professor at U. of C." —
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